Oddities of the Century
by Shadedzircon
Summary: A strange student who seems to fill all of his time with work, a father who ponders who his son is and an even stranger girl. Hidden beneath the surface is a life full of pain and anger. Hiccup find's his life taking an even stranger turn when he finds himself involve with Astrid. Hiccstrid, dark themes, violence
1. Chapter 1

**hey guys ive edited the format ro make it easier to read, ive been made aware that these chapters have ridiculously long paragraphs**

Stoick had always known his son was different, as a Military Admiral Stoick was very much in favour of his son being bulky, well built and able to hold his own. Though he was granted a wiry slim young man, he was never disappointed after all, he was his son, he would always have his back. Stoick stared at the papers In front of him, he shook his head. Hiccup was a strange one that's for sure, he seemed to spend more time than ever talking to his cat Toothless.

An odd name yes, he had been found as a kitten and had lost all his baby teeth due to a virus, luckily his adult teeth had no such problems. Stoick began to sign some of the sixth form papers Hiccup's head of year had sent home. He was insanely clever, studying all sciences and maths for his A levels. Not to say Stoick wasn't aware of the terminology, but it stopped at military experience and rarely branched onto theoretical. Stoick nearly flew out of his chair when he felt something fluffy rub against his leg, he let out a grunting laugh.

"Ye silly sod" he chuckled looking down at Toothless who mewled in his direction. "Ah I forgot to feed ye" he grumbled getting up and opening a tin can of wet food and grimaced as it plopped into the bowl making an unsatisfying sound. "I don't understand why ye like this, it's disgusting" he grumbled. He looked at the mess on the plate, according to the reviews it was the most healthiest and even the vet had recommended it.

Stoick shuddered when he remembered how his curiosity had gotten the better of him and he had tried it, only to be startled by Hiccup and drop the chicken concoction onto his beard. His son had said nothing but stared at him bewildered before backing away. He placed the plate by Toothless and the small black fireball dived into his food, Stoick opened the cupboard and pulled out a pack of soft wet wipes. The cat was such a messy eater that if they didn't clean his mouth the food would stay on his fur for the rest of eternity. Stoick's mind wondered back to Hiccup, the boy was always alone, and he never interacted much with others. He had taken up training within the military but he seemed to be doing a little bit of everything. Stoick could honestly say that he was impressed that Hiccup could handle being in education while also training with the military. He shook his head and sighed watching the cat mewl as he ate, the sound caused Stoick to snicker slightly before sitting back down with the wet wipes.

In all honesty the boy was always tired and his eyes seemed to be hiding something deeper to his personality. Stoick had always taken precautions regarding Hiccup, the boy had been extremely prone to getting into fights when he was younger and it was very gruesome causing him to be expelled from several schools. With medication and therapy he seemed to have calmed down. The one plus to the situation was they got along well, Stoick had learned when to give him his space and when to chastise him. He felt that his son had also strived to understand him which caused both of them to calm down significantly. Toothless meowed and jumped onto Stoick's lap. The bear of a man held the wet wipes delicately and softly cleaned Toothless before letting the cat go. Stoick gathered the papers up and set them on the table before heading upstairs to bed, he had an early morning and he knew Hiccup would be home soon.

It was close to midnight when the door opened and he stepped through. Hiccup looked around the dark house curiously as he shut the door and he could hear the walls rumbling from his father's snoring.

"Typical" he murmured wiping the small amount of blood that trickled down his nose. He headed towards the table and smiled when he saw the forms neatly piled together. He placed a post it note down where the papers had been

Thanks dad he wrote in large letters knowing the sleep dust tended to cause his father's vision to become blurred. He sighed and trudged up the stairs dragging a heavy duffle bag with him. He opened the door to his room and smiled when he saw Toothless curled at the end of his bed. He gently scratched the cat behind the ears and he purred and curled into a tighter ball. A loud clunk was heard when he dropped the duffle bag onto the floor and sighed rubbing his eyes. It had been a long night and he was exhausted. He slipped off his clothes and turned on the shower.

Hiccup shuddered in satisfaction when he saw the steam gently rise and condense on the mirror. He stepped in and groaned when he felt the hot water loosen his muscles. Hiccup was tall but he was by no means skinny. His body was lithe and lean, hard muscles traced along his abdomen and his eyes focused briefly on the pattern the water was tracing. He long calloused fingers threaded through his Auburn hair before pressing against his scalp and massaging gently. His shoulders were broad and the muscles on his arms were proportioned to his body. His shoulder blades protruded slightly the muscle shifting against his hand as he reached back to massage the bruise. He closed his eyes and stood on his strong legs which were wired with muscle, and let the water fall over his face. His Adams apple bobbed as he swallowed and his chest rose and fell in rhythm with his breath. His knuckles were slightly bruised and he stared down at them, the water slowly dripping off his long eyelashes which brushed against his cheek each time he blinked.

He had stayed in that shower for 40 minutes before finally deciding to step out. He wiped the mist off the mirror and stared at his reflection. His hair was brushed back and his thick eyebrows seemed to be stuck in a frown. He groaned and rubbed his fingers over them trying to relax, but to no avail. He headed into his room and began to dry himself, squeezing the excess water out of his hair. He slipped on an oversized t-shirt and a pair of pyjama trousers before falling into the soft bed. He felt himself sink into the mattress and moaned happily. He delved under the covers and sniffed slightly. His sheets had been changed and he chuckled.

"Dad must've done the house work" he yawned slightly before curling up and drifting off into a deep undisturbed sleep.

Hiccup sighed as he parked his car just around the corner from the school. He stayed inside for a moment leaning his head against the steering wheel and grimaced. Another day another battle, the school was classified as a good school but the teachers and students were animals. He stepped out and stretched, he was glad in a suit and grumbled angrily. It was one of those anal schools which required some form of uniform, he snatched his lanyard out of his pocket and slipped it on. His father had decided to take it upon himself to also polish his dress shoes and frankly he'd done such a good hip that they violently reflected light. He hefted his backpack on one shoulder and walked towards the gates of the school.

Hiccup could see the year 7 up to year 11 gathering on the play ground. He had no doubt in his mind that the sixth form was locked away in the silent study, breaking keyboards in an effort to get their essays done before the first period. He walked in through the gate and stretched feeling eternally grateful that the year 12 and 13 male students were not required to wear ties. He had on a simple navy suit and a white shirt which had a few buttons open at the top. He entered the common room and he looked towards the table in the corner. There was a girl seated on one of the chairs, she had big round glasses and her hair was set in a French braid. She had her nose buried in a book, Hiccup tilted his head the side wondering how on earth she was able to read in all this noise. He watched her out of the corner of his eye she was pale and seemed to be too skinny, clearly she wasn't eating well. He frowned wondering if he should buy her lunch, but he doubted she would eat food offered by a stranger. He sighed scratching his head

"I don't need this today" he mumbled before feeling a hard punch on his arm.

"Don't need what Haddock" Snotlout sneered.

"You coming up to me" Hiccup said his voice lowering and Snotlout sighed.

"It makes it hard for me to bully you when you give me the scary eyes you know" he grumbled.

"shut up snot" Hiccup retorted before looking at him and grimacing. "look I'm on edge alright" he sighed looking at the bulkier teen. Snotlout eyes widened slightly before nodding.

"Bad night?" he asked quietly and Hiccup nodded.

"5" Hiccup murmured and Snotlout swallowed audibly.

"That's a lot" Snotlout said as he grabbed a sandwich and picked up an extra one.

"Who's that for?" Hiccup asked " you going to eat both?"

"Nah it's for my cousin" he said tilting his head to where the girl with the glasses was, "her name's Astrid, she just moved in with us" he shrugged.

"Does she eat?" Hiccup asked and Snotlout's face fell.

"Not recently, I keep having to remind her, it's like her mind is occupied constantly, she just forgets" he sighed. Snotlout felt a head press against his back and he turned and saw Astrid.

"Hey buddy" he mumbled and she looked up at him before snatching the sandwich.

"stop talking about me" she snapped before storming off.

"We were talking quietly, how the hell did she hear us?" Hiccup asked his eyes wide and Snotlout shrugged.

"I guess she has really good hearing" he mumbled and Hiccup stared at her his eyes narrowing.

"Yeah I guess" he said quietly watching as she picked at the sandwich before seeming to forget about it.


	2. Chapter 2

Snotlout and Hiccup walked over to where Astrid was seated and slipped into the chairs beside her.

"Astrid don't forget to eat" Snotlout said. She rolled her eyes clearly frustrated and Snotlout sighed rubbing his face. She scowled and pushed it away from her.

"I'm not hungry" she muttered.

"Did you have more bad dreams?" He asked softly and she growled.

"That's non of your business" she snapped.

"Well clearly you have been if you're so defensive" Hiccup mumbled as he took the sandwich from her and opened it.

"Look I don't know who you th-" she started but she never finished the sentence, Hiccup had torn off a piece of the sandwich and shoved it in her mouth.

Snotlout stared in shock and he could feel the onset of an argument coming which caused the bulky teen to shrink back into his seat. She swallowed the bread in shock and snarled slamming her hands on the table and standing up her glasses slightly askew "don't touch me!" she snapped and Hiccup glared at her and his glare sent a shiver down to her very core. She squeezed her eyes shut and shivered before folding her arm and scowling.

"Come on cousin just eat" Snotlout mumbled.

"I'm not your cousin alright" she grumbled but conceded and began to eat the sandwich happily.

"What does she mean by that?" Hiccup asked curiously.

"Well we're not exactly related, my mum's sister and her husband adopted Astrid, so she's like my cousin" he said shrugging and Hiccup nodded.

"Parents?" he asked and Snotlout sent him a look and he nodded.

"Have you spoken with ruff and tuff?" Snotlout said leaning forward curiously and Hiccup smiled.

"They enlisted in the military full time, for some reason they preferred that to A levels, personally I don't see much of a difference" Hiccup shrugged.

"Well you do, do both" Snotlout snorted before sigh and leaning his elbow on the table " at some point they blend together don't they." He chuckled and Hiccup sighed rubbing his face,

"I've got maths I need to go." He mumbled grabbing his bag and walking off. Astrid looked at him and pushed her glasses up.

"Who is he?" she asked curiously and Snotlout looked at her.

"He's Stoick Haddock's son" he mumbled "Astrid be careful around him alright" his eyes narrowed "he's involved in stuff you don't want to be a part of."

"Like drugs?" she asked and Snotlout shook his head.

"no nothing like that, it's not easy to explain" he smiled thinly "just be careful alright" she frowned at his words before nodding.

"I have taekwondo tonight by the way, so I'm going to head there directly from school." She said finishing the rest of her food.

"Want me to pick you up?" he asked and she looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Nah I'll take the bus" she said gathering her books, "I'm going to go finish my essay" she said walking off and slaving Snotlout alone.

It was roughly 8pm when Astrid had finished taekwondo, she hadn't bothered to change out of her dobok and had simply worn her coat over it, she hefted her bag slightly and yawned tiredly. She shivered when she felt the sweat cool on her back, she adjusted her glasses and began to walk. The streets were strangely quiet, a few cars would go past every now and then but other than that it was dead silence. She shivered as she felt eyes on her and began to speed walk. She looked around slightly and froze when she saw something dark zip across the rooftops.

"Crap" she whispered as she began to run, the figure seemed to be following her and she squeezed her eyes shut in frustration, it was moving too fast. She let out a cry when she slammed into a hard body and she sprawled across the floor. Luckily she had responsive reflexes and she rolled to her feet in a defensive position. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw what was In front of her. It was a man but he didn't seem to be responsive. His body was slouched and he was staring at the sky, he was foaming at the mouth and his irises were a milky white.

He made a low grunting noise before slouching forwards and looking towards Astrid. He growled lowly and lunged at her and she hissed kicking him hard in the face knocking him back. She grabbed her bag and bolted, the man seemed to get up and run towards her impossibly fast. She let out a shout when she was grabbed by the shoulder and thrown into a wall. Her glasses flew off her face and shattered on the floor. Her skull cracked against the brick and she cried out sagging on the floor. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she searched desperately for her glasses. She was grabbed by the front of her shirt and lifted up, her eyes flew open the man reeled back in shock and began to make warbling noises. Her irises were pitch black and she let out a scream and kicked him in the stomach. She hit the ground and threw her hand just on the spot where her glasses were but the shattered glass cut into her fingers.

"No no no" she whispered panicked settling in. Her skull was bleeding and she was feeling extremely dizzy. The man got up again and took a step forward, suddenly it's skull shattered and Astrid raised her arm blocking her face as blood and brain matter splattered over her. The body dropped to the ground, she skidded back and made an attempt to run but a hand suddenly grasped her arm. She squealed loudly and whirled around her fist cracking against the assailant's jaw. They cursed but held on tightly and pulled her into an alleyway, within seconds a team had arrived and gathered the corpse, they cleaned the area and left as though nothing had happened. Astrid turned around and the figure pulled his hood down. Her eyes widened "y-" she started and he shushed her before pulling her along.

"If they see you here they'll take you away" he whispered hefting a heavy duffel bag. "Come on" he whispered pulling her along but she staggered her head spinning heavily. "Oh for the love of" he started and lifted her up into his arms and ran. Astrid held onto him tightly her knuckles and ankle bruised from having fought the man. She looked through bleary eyes as they came up to a huge house before she finally passed out.

Astrid twitched slightly and her eyes fluttered open, she could hear voices but it was like a filter.

"Son how much did the lass see?"

"everything"

"So she knows about-"

"No she doesn't know about that, she just saw the man"

"Good make sure to keep it that way, I have to head into the office and take care of the clean up."

She heard a door shut and she sat up slightly her head spinning and she looked around. She felt her face and looked around panicked.

"My glasses" she said desperately and her hand flew into the bed side table and she felt a pair of glasses touch her hand. She picked them up and immediately recognised them, they were hers, but she was sure she had broken them. Shaking her head bewildered she slipped them on and visibly relaxed. The door opened and Hiccup stepped in scratching his head and sighing annoyed.

"Don't you know you never walk home alone at night" he snapped.

"Well clearly that man had rabies" she snapped "were in England where rabies is all but gone from the streets."

"What would have happened if you died Huh?" Hiccup sneered.

"It's not like anyone gives a damn" she snapped but suddenly a loud slap sounded out and her head was knocked to the side. She looked back at him shocked and he was glaring at her furiously.

"I called Snotlout" he hissed "he was a blubbering mess, he clearly cares about you, otherwise he wouldn't be so vigilant in reminding you to eat, if it was me I would've left you to it" he scoffed.

"Then why didn't you" she snapped her hands clenching in the sheets.

"Because you not getting caught was for both our benefit" he grumbled "who do you think they'd question next, or possibly put in quarantine" he folded his arms and sighed rubbing his face. He grabbed a pot of Arnica cream and scooped some onto his finger before applying it to her swelling cheek in circular motions.

"Snotlout will be here soon with your stuff" he said.

"Wait my stuff why?" she asked pulling her face away from his hand.

"You're going to be living here for a while, it's for your own safety, plus my dad is an admiral so he can wing it when he needs to" Hiccup placed the cream onto the bedside table. "look after these" he said tapping her glasses "its very hard to get another pair" he murmured "come down when you're ready there's some lasagne in the oven" and with that he left Astrid on her own. She groaned Snotlout had been right, there was something seriously wrong with him.


End file.
